P8 /C8 — * *CARfcRT LOT-c"00Z:M792 ... shepherd pruden library 106 W WATER ST EDENTON NC 27932-1854 Wednesday, January i j, tx,, . School board backs band uniform effort — 4A 50* Building may become a hotel once again ■ Developer looking at mixed use with hotel, restaurant BY REGGIE PONDER Editor The developers who are look ing at buying the former county office building on King Street — also known as the historic Hotel Hinton — said last week they are interested in restoring the building for use as a hotel. ‘Strong people skills’ sought ■ Search for new schools superintendent continues BY REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer School board members heard the results of online community and staff sur veys describing qualities they would value in a new superintendent at their Jan. 6 monthly meeting. In the process, school board chair John Guard said, the board also had the opportunity to participate in an impromptu brainstorm ing session of its own to identify characteristics it thought were significant When asked how the board’s answers differed from those included in the surveys, Guard replied, “There was not a big vari ance in the answers.” A total of 48 completed community surveys and 102 completed staff surveys were received, according to Tanya Giovanni and Alli son Schafer from the North Carolina School Board As* sociation, who assisted the school board with its online surveys. According to the survey results that were collected between Nov. 21 and Jan. 2 • See SEARCH, 2A MLK Day event set . s for next Monday From staff reports The community’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration will be held Jan. 20 at noon at Swain Au ditorium. Sherrod * Banks, an attorney who grew up in Eden ton and practices law in Dur ham, will be the event’s guest speaker. Banks graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, cum laude, in 1986 and received his Juris Doctor Degree from the UNC School Of Law in BANKS See EVENT, 2A 02009 The Chowan Herald AU Rights Reserved 'v Amit Gupta of Kill Devil Hills based Saga Development said that while the project is still in the due diligence phase, the indications so far are good. “We feel good about it,” Gupta said. “But were taking it one step at a time,” he added, explaining the company is doing its due diligence to be sure the renovation of the budding as a hotel is something that would work for the town and would make sense financially for STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER Guitarist EZ Malone plays a blues-infused version of “How Great Thou Art.” See story on page 4B. Hospitals advise community about flu precautions From staff reports ,'i! Vidant Health and Vidant Chow an Hospital recognize that this is peak flu season and request the community’s help in protecting pa tients. Signs are posted throughout the hospital asking community mem bers to avoid visiting patients If they are feeling sick. Hospital officials said they un derstand there are some extreme the company. County officials announced •last year that they had found a developer interested in buying the county’s former governmental of fice building, which originally was built as a hotel in 1926. The buyer is nearing the fend of the due diligence period. The developer is eyeing the budding for a possible restoration as a hotel, with a restaurant a^so part of the mix. “We’re looking at a mixed use,” situations where visitation is un avoidable, and \n those situations visitors with a respiratory illness should wear a face mask. The hospital asks visitors to wash their hands before entering patient areas and before and after entering patient rooms. “Flu season is definitely upon us, but there are lots of things we can do to protect ourselves," said Jef frey N. Sackrison, hospital presi dent “If you haven't gotten a flu Gupta said. “But a hotel would be the primary use that we would be looking at The primary thing we are looking at is whether it would make sense as a restored hotel.” In a Jan. 2 talk at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City on the topic'of historic preserva tion, Edenton Town Councilman Sambo Dixon spoke about the his toric importance of the Hotel Hin ton and the value that a mixed-use restoration of the building could contribute to downtown Edenton. shot this year, talk to your health care provider about whether this would be a good choice for you. Also be sure to wash your hands well and frequently and cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.” Currently the James and Connie Maynard Childrens Hospital at Vi dant Medical Center is the only Vi dant hospital restricting visitation for children under 12 years of age due to their highly susceptible par * .■»•* , .;;?• While the focus has been on the restoration and renovation of the building, county officials also have maintained as a last resort the pos sibly of demolishing the structure to make way for new construction at the site. County officials have insisted they do not intend to tear the building down and only wish to keep their options open at this point ' . See HOTEL, 2A Pair face charges in bank robbery From staff reports WINDSOR —TWoEden ton men face armed robbeiy charges in connection with a bank robbeiy last week in Windsor. William C. TWine, 45, of 806Johnson St, and Michael Rankins, 50, of 201 Boswell St, both . have been charged with' rob bery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the in cident Windsor police said the inci dent also is under fed eral investi gation. Tw i n e an d Rankins are being held at the Ber tie County Jail, according to police. Both men were placed under $400,000 bond, but TWine was being held without bond because of his refusal to provide a DNA sample, police said. Subsequent to providing the DNA, TWine again would be placed under $400,000 bond, according to police. The two men were sched uled to make a first court appearance in court today in Bertie County District Court Windsor authorities said this was the first bank rob bery in the town in anyone’s memory. The robbeiy occurred Thursday around 4:30 p.m. at the Wells Faigo Bank on South King Street An un disclosed amount of money was taken in the robbery, according to police. A weapon was involved in the robbeiy but police were not releasing specific infor mation about the weapon at this time. N.C. Department of Con rection records indicate William C. TWine has previ ous convictions on various charges, including assault, 4 % V ■■ RANKINS See ROBBERY, 2A tient population. Vidant Chowan is > not restricting visitation due to the flp at this time. As flu cases in North Carolina >:■ continue to increase, Albemar^ le Hospital in Elizabeth City is strongly recommending visitors take extra precautions in an effort to protect patients. All visitors are asked to wear a mask (available at infection prevention kiosks at eadr See FLU, 2A * M. ‘Then Sings My Soul’